


Violet Starlight

by delta_altair



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Developing Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Galo is pretty emotionally intelligent imo, Lio gets cold without the Promare, M/M, Post-Canon, Promare are Starlight, Stargazing, implied minor character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:07:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25700044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delta_altair/pseuds/delta_altair
Summary: A week after the battle on the Parnassus, Galo and Lio have been working non-stop. After a long shift, Galo finds Lio stargazing on the roof of the Burning Rescue building. Lio opens up to Galo about his fears, and Galo imparts a bit of wisdom.
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 9
Kudos: 120





	Violet Starlight

“Galo!”

“Huh?!”

Galo snapped awake, wincing as he peeled the side of his face off the window of the firetruck. “What’s goin’ on?” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

“We’re back at the station man!” Varys shook his head, grinning. He opened the door and leaned out, cupping a hand to his mouth. “Sector A-2 is all done boss!” As he exited the truck, he looked back over his shoulder to Galo. “You know Ignis is going to tell you to leave. You’ve been going non-stop.”

“A firefighters work is never done!” Galo declared. But he knew Varys was right. He was exhausted. It had only been a week since he and Lio had extinguished Governor Kray’s ambitions, and he hadn't been back to his apartment once, catching sleep here and there in the station bunks.

Galo pushed the door open and all but slid out of the passenger's seat, dragging his jacket with him. Ruffling his hair back into shape, he plodded after Varys. It was after midnight so all of the lights were on inside the station, and the glare was making Galo's eyes sting. 

Varys went on through to the crew quarters, but Galo turned and trudged up the staircase to Ignis' office. "Hey boss!" he said, pushing the scant bit of energy he still had into his voice. "Where to next?"

"Your apartment," Ignis deadpanned, glancing up from his laptop. His glasses had slipped slightly down his nose, making his exasperated expression readily apparent. "You've been on shift for nearly fourteen hours, and I know you haven't been back to your apartment since the incident."

"But-"

"I know you care about getting the job done and helping people, Galo," Ignis said, expression softening slightly. "But you're working yourself into the ground, and that's no help to anyone. Get some rest, that's an order. There'll still be lots of repairs in the city for you to tackle tomorrow." 

Galo sighed, but he knew Ignis was right. "I understand, captain. But I'm gonna be back first thing tomorrow!" 

Ignis shook his head, but was smiling as he waved Galo out of his office. 

Before he headed out, Galo wanted to see how Lio was doing; he shot down the stairs and headed straight into the crew quarters. In their tiny kitchenette, Varys was heating up a cup of coffee and thumbing through the newspaper. Aina was stretched out on the couch that split the room, reading a book. Sparks flew from the corner where Lucia was hunched over her workbench. As Galo pulled his locker open, Varys asked, "Captain send you home?"

"Yeah yeah," Galo groaned.

"Heh, told you!"

"You have been working non-stop overtime," Lucia chattered, nose pressed into her machinery. "You and Lio need to take more breaks."

Galo glanced at the desk in the other corner of the room, opposite to Lucia's station. Piles of papers were stacked neatly on the desk, and the garbage next to it was filled with coffee cups. But the chair was empty.

Galo hung up his jacket and closed the door to his locker, then side-stepped to the door of the bunk room. The lights inside were on and all of the beds were made, all unoccupied.

"Anyone know where Lio is?" Galo asked. He wasn’t overly concerned, but Lucia was right, Lio had been going non-stop since the battle. While the empty residential space inside the Parnassus worked as a temporary shelter for the Burnish, Lio was determined to find them proper housing. When he wasn’t helping Burning Rescue with repairs, he was usually poring over complicated paperwork.

"Oh!" Aina piped up, looking at Galo over the ridge of her book. "He said he wanted some space, and to get some air. You didn't see him on the ride in?"

"No..." He chewed on his bottom lip. There was a spot Galo would go when he needed space but couldn't get out to the lake. It was worth a shot. "I might know where he is though. Thanks Aina!"

"No problem!" Aina called after him as he spun on his heel and left the crew quarters. 

He made his way to the back of the building and pulled open the access door to the roof. Taking the steps two at a time up the stairway, Galo wondered why Lio wanted some space. He had been getting along well with everyone at the station, but he had been working long hours, just like Galo. Maybe he was feeling stressed out.

...maybe he shouldn't be intruding, then. Galo stared down at his reflection in the handle of the door that led out onto the roof. He noticed his shirt was still a bit wrinkled from his impromptu nap in the truck, and he pulled it straight. Apprehension gnawed at him, but he quickly shook it away. It wouldn't hurt just to check up on him. He grabbed the handle and opened the door.

A refreshing gust of cool air hit his face, and his eyes started to adjust to the dim lighting. Many of the buildings in Promepolis were still without power, so the night sky was much darker than normal. But even in the shadows of the rooftop, Lio’s bright shock of green hair was still easy to spot. He sat in the middle of the roof, arms wrapped around his knees and his back against an air vent. He had been looking straight up, but inclined his head towards Galo as the door swung shut behind him.

“Hey,” Galo said, giving Lio a little wave. “Mind if I join you?”

Seconds ticked by, Lio regarding him with a neutral expression. Galo kept the smile on his face. Finally, Lio turned and craned his neck, gaze returning to the sky. "Sure."

Galo marched across the roof and sat down next to Lio, taking up the rest of the space against the air vent.

They sat together quietly. Galo looked up at the stars at first, noticing all of the new ones that couldn't normally be seen when Promepolis was shining as bright as usual. But soon enough, he glanced over at Lio. The other man was still curled up, arms crossed and fingers idly rubbing at his elbows. He looked swamped by the spare firefighter jacket he had draped over his shoulders, at least two sizes too big. But what caught Galo’s attention was Lio's expression. He was staring up at the sky with a distant, forlorn look in his eyes. 

Galo had seen that look on Lio's face once before. A week ago, after defeating Kray, after they had lit the whole world on fire.

Within an hour of their triumph every emergency officer in Promepolis, from EMTs to firefighters, had arrived at the crash site. Services from nearby cities had appeared soon after that. But Lio and Burning Rescue had been first on the scene. They had been the first to free the Burnish from the warp core and ferry them to an emergency medical area just outside the wreckage of the Parnassus. Many of the freed Burnish had immediately turned around and started working to release their comrades. But some were exhausted, or injured, and had to be carried outside by Remi or Varys.

And some of the pods were empty. 

That was where Galo had seen this look on Lio's face before -- the first time they’d opened a pod and found it empty. They had stood in silence, Galo not knowing what, if anything, to say. He remembered reaching out for Lio’s hand and finding nothing but air, his partner having already moved onto the next pod. But Lio's features had tightened and his posture had stiffened every time they found another empty pod. 

Galo swallowed, feeling a lump in his throat. Losing civilians on the job was never, _ever_ an easy feeling. He couldn't even begin to comprehend how Lio must have felt. But he knew that Lio was feeling some kind of hurt right now, and Galo had never abandoned someone in need of help.

He figured he should keep it simple, let Lio direct the conversation where he needed it to go. So he took a deep breath, then quietly remarked, "I've never been able to see this many stars in Promepolis before." In his periphery, he saw Lio turn to look at him. "It's really beautiful."

For a long moment, the rooftop stayed quiet, with only the hum of the intake fan breaking the silence. Galo waited patiently until Lio finally spoke, his voice neutral but soft, "It is. You can see even more outside of the city."

"Yeah," Galo smiled, "I've been to the lake in the night a few times. There's almost too many to count." 

Lio let out a quiet hum and shifted, his shoulder briefly brushing Galo's. "Sometimes I wonder if any of the ones we can see are Promare."

Galo felt a bit emboldened at his approach, hearing Lio talk about something related to his old powers. He looked at Lio and asked, "Do you think they exist in our universe?"

"I don't see why not," Lio mused. He folded his hands atop his knees and leaned his chin on them, further curling in on himself. "It would be hard to know, of course. But maybe there are more of them out there."

"Well, maybe there'll be more people like Professor Deus who'll start to study them." Galo paused, wondering if he should continue, but decided to press on. "Do you miss having your powers?"

For the first time that night, violet eyes locked with blue, and the intensity of Lio’s gaze had Galo thinking he had misstepped. But then Lio glanced away and mumbled, "Yes and no." 

Galo turned towards Lio, nodding for him to continue.

Lio rubbed a hand behind his neck as he spoke, "I miss the feeling, of course. I was powerful. When you get used to hearing the flames...the Promare speaking to you, it's really quiet when they're gone. I feel kind of..." his lips pressed into a thin line, "empty without them."

Suddenly, something about Lio's posture became a lot more clear to Galo. It wasn't just now, outside at night. Lio always had his arms wrapped around himself, always borrowed one of the squad's spare jackets. Without hesitation, Galo blurted out, "Do you feel cold without them?"

The look Lio gave him could have melted ice. Galo was reminded of how Lio had singed him the second time they had met, when he had said something stupid about the Burnish. But without his powers, Lio just kept staring at Galo, his glare weakening as the seconds ticked by.

Galo held out his left arm, leaving his side open. Lio's eyes flicked down to his chest, then back up to his face. Galo just raised an eyebrow.

With a resigned huff, Lio shuffled closer and leaned into Galo's side, resting his head on Galo's shoulder. Now that he was closer, Galo noticed that Lio was, in fact, shivering slightly. He laid his arm gently over Lio's shoulders, hoping it would help him warm up.

"Thanks," Lio muttered. "You make a pretty good furnace."

Galo beamed and puffed out his chest. "Well, that's my burning firefighter's soul!"

Lio snorted, and Galo felt his shoulders shake with suppressed laughter. "You're such an idiot, Galo."

"Yeah," Galo chuckled, "I know."

They sat in comfortable silence as the stars slowly moved across the sky overhead. After an old car noisily clunked by on the road below, Galo spoke up again. “There are things you don't miss about your powers?"

He felt Lio's posture stiffen briefly. "It was...a lot of responsibility. To lead people. It's what I wanted, obviously, but when things went wrong...it was hard."

"You're still a leader, Lio," Galo remarked. "Even though you’re helping us with repair operations, you’re still finding time to work with the Deputy Governor to find homes for the rest of the Burnish."

"That's different," Lio insisted. "I'm helping to push things along. It's a lot of bureaucracy and paperwork." Galo could see Lio’s hands tighten in his lap. "But no one's going to die if I lose a form or miss a phone call." 

Galo looked down at Lio, alarmed at his sullen tone. "What do you mean?"

Lio took one shaky breath, then another. "I was supposed to be strong enough to save the Burnish, Galo."

"But you did," Galo said, frowning. "We stopped Kray."

"And I still couldn't save _everyone."_ Lio swallowed and sat up, pulling away and turning his face away from Galo. "I wasn't fast enough and Burnish died because of it. And don't say that it was really Kray's fault." Galo winced; he had been about to say that. "I was supposed to protect them. I wasn't worthy of leading them. My...my flames weren't strong enough. Kray was better than me."

Galo stared at the back of Lio's head for what felt like a very long time. He thought over a dozen different things to say, but none of them felt convincing. Galo settled on something simple. "I don’t think Kray was better than you."

Lio spun around, an indignant expression incandescent on his face. "What the hell do you mean?! You were _there,_ Galo. Kray was able to start the engine again because I wasn't strong enough to beat him."

"You were _exhausted,_ Lio," Galo pressed. "You had gotten shot into a volcano, flew back as a giant dragon, and then had to power Lio de Galon with your flames for the whole battle. Kray didn't have to do any of that." Lio's anger seemed to have sputtered out a bit, so he continued, "And I don't wanna tell you how to think about it; I don’t want to tell you that your feelings are wrong. But there's no way Kray's powers were stronger than yours. How else were you able to protect me?"

Lio’s tense posture deflated, and he blinked owlishly. "I....well..." He let out a dissatisfied grumble, his brow pinched. "I guess."

"Well I _know,”_ Galo declared. "I mean, I was the one inside Kray's fire. Twice. And I didn't get hurt at all!" He waved his free hand, "Not a burn on me. And, you know, both times Kray attacked me, his flames were always yellow."

"...ok?"

"And your flames were always bright blue and violet. Even the ones that shielded me from Kray's flames." He thought back, remembering the vibrancy of Lio's flames flickering around him. "They were teal. So that means they were stronger, right? I mean, every firefighter knows that blue-hot is hotter than red-hot." 

Lio’s gaze slowly lifted to look at the stars above them. "Oh."

"And that's gotta apply to the Promare too, right?" He rambled on, "They're basically starlight, that's what the old professor said. And I remember learning about stars in school. The hottest stars are always blue. So...you were always stronger than him, Lio. Trust me on that."

Slowly, Lio looked back down at Galo. He looked tired, but his eyes were a little bit brighter, like some of the sadness had drained out of him. He leaned back in against Galo's side and whispered, "Thank you, Galo."

Galo smiled, letting his arm rest across Lio's shoulders again. "No problem."

They continued to sit there, Lio cuddled up against Galo's side. Galo went back to counting the stars, idly wondering if any of the stars were looking back at him, until at last he drifted off to sleep.

Galo startled awake to the sound of cawing as a flock of crows soared over the roof of the Burning Rescue station. He registered the awful brightness first -- the sun was reflecting off the thousands of glass windows across the city -- the horrendous crick in his next second -- wait had he fallen asleep against the air vent? -- and Lio's quiet gasp last. 

He glanced over at the other man, who was looking away and had a furious blush on his cheeks. "Sorry," Lio blurted out. "I didn't mean to fall asleep. On you."

"Eh, no worries," Galo shrugged, though he was already rubbing the back of his neck. "I think we both needed a long rest anyway." He stood and held a hand out to Lio. "Well I'm ready to get back at it. But you should remember to pace yourself. And...ask for help, if you need it, yeah?"

Lio blinked at Galo's outstretched hand, but eventually grasped it and stood. He gave Galo's hand a little squeeze. "Yeah. I will."

When he walked by Ignis' office later that morning, the captain gave him a look that said he knew Galo hadn't gone home. And Galo's back killed him the whole day. But he saw the way Lio's shoulders were held a bit higher, the way he seemed to walk with a bit more confidence, and Galo smiled. It was all worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> So as an astronomer-in-training, the fact that the Promare are essentially starlight is super awesome to me. 
> 
> With respect to the Promare flames, Lio's flames are very consistently a very vibrant blue and violet. Kray's kind of vary from scene to scene, but the core of his huge blasts at Galo are definitely a yellow/orange color.
> 
> A huge thank you to my amazing beta readers, [thedarkpoet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedarkpoet/) and [alphaparrot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alphaparrot). You rock <3


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